Improv for the Professional?

Wesley · Post by **Wesley** » March 3rd, 2006, 1:16 pm

I was wondering if anyone else who works in an office, who attends regular meetings, who deals with clients and bosses in suits, etc would be interested in helping to develop a curriculum for "the professional."

Here's why: At first I noticed how improv improved my work life by adding new creativity and allowing me to take more risks, but now my knowledge of improv is pissing me off at work because in meetings the "beats" are missed to change topics (which means discussions drag on and on) and the same information is repeated over and again and now it really stands out! Curse you knowledge of improv.

I don't know if this would wind up as a Hideout, AIC, or an individual instructor's class at some point in the future or just serve as a thought experiment, but I'd like to see if anyone else would be interested in meeting about this idea.

Areas I would like to think about finding surgical improv techniques for are:
--interviewing/performance reviews
--meetings and presentations
--dealing with clients or vendors (internal and external)
--general ambition (making good impressions to move upward)
--morale
--sales/marketing
--other?

acrouch · Post by **acrouch** » March 3rd, 2006, 2:13 pm

Wes, this sounds like the kind of thing that we should be developing for our Corporate outreach division.

Didn't know we had one? Well it's in the works. We've done a couple of gigs and put in offers on a couple more. It's very loose right now, as is most of Austin Improv, so let's get together and firm it up. Right now we're just dealing with clients as they come to us, but soon we'll want to have generated some basic products and start shopping them around.

Anyone else interested in this? Maybe it's time we had a Corporate Committee meeting.

Evilpandabear · Post by **Evilpandabear** » March 3rd, 2006, 2:32 pm

I love the corporate world. In fact, I'm there right now!

sara farr · Post by **sara farr** » March 6th, 2006, 2:15 am

I made my department hire Merlin-Works to come teach our teachers how to teach creativity - better than they were doing it. I'm totally into applied improv. Whatever you need from me, you got it.

Wesley · Post by **Wesley** » March 6th, 2006, 9:58 am

Cool.
What I'm thinking of would not be a general improv/creativity class, but a highly-refined, specifically-targeted set of principles and rules for different business settings. These would be based on improv technique, but filtered less through art and creativity and more through business skills.

Like finding a beat in a meeting. I wouldn't do it in terms of a scene and hope people could adapt it (which is what I see of a lot of theatrical-inspired business classes do), it would be in terms of a meeting and we'd explain:
--What a beat is
--Why should you use/care about a beat
--How to recognize a beat
--How to act during a beat to get what you want (usually to move things along to the next topic or make a decision)

I'd also like to thread in a lot of neuro-linguistic programming ideas about mimicry (mirroring in the improv world) and body language. This kind of stuff could be very helpful in interviewing or making propositions. But it would all be very specific toward workplace application and not general theory.

I'll keep working on the ideas because someday I'd love to develop it.

smerlin · Post by **smerlin** » March 7th, 2006, 12:35 pm

I'm holding a workshop in April that might have some overlap with your ideas/interests.

Applied Improv for Business Workshop
At The ACC Highland Business Center
5930 Middle Fiskville Rd.
Interactive Training for Success
To register, email Shana@merlin-works.com .

APPLIED IMPROV FOR BUSINESS WORKSHOP (April 20, 27, May 4, and 11 Thursdays 7-9pm $200) Applied Improv training works on key skills that will help you ace interviews, lead stunning presentations, motivate teams, and create innovations in your field. By using exercises from the improvisational theatre world, you will get hands on practice and direct feedback.

The benefits of Merlin-Works Applied Improv Training:

-Be able to think on your feet: have access to all your ideas and faculties when you are on the spot

-Control body language and interpersonal power dynamics: know how to own the room or win over your co-workers, employers, and customers

-Stand out as a team member: listen better, build on others ideas, share control, make others look good, gain flexibility and position yourself as someone everyone wants on their team

-Access your creativity: feel more confident taking risks, get in touch with your creative side, have fresh ideas to offer, and open up awareness to opportunities all around you

beardedlamb · Post by **beardedlamb** » March 7th, 2006, 1:09 pm

totally hot!